WOMEN – FOR BETTER AND FOR WORSE

UNIT 7 WOMEN – FOR BETTER AND FOR WORSE






Women are far less criminally inclined than men

Activity 1
Before reading the text, discuss with a partner the different types of offences which
come under the category of sex crimes.

FIND THE CORRECT SEQUENCE OF THE TEXT BELOW

LAW ON SEX CRIMES TO BE TIGHTENED

A B C D E F G


A) Ministers also want to strengthen the law on rape to tackle the appallingly low 9%
conviction rate, and define consent by setting the prosecution the lower test of proving that
the victim had not given their ‘voluntary and genuine agreement’.

B) It is expected that the new offence would apply to a man or woman over 18 who was
involved in a sexual act with a child under 16. This would ensure that all children under 16
get the same level of protection. The law would cover those who incited, induced or
compelled a child to carry out a sexual act, “whether on the accused, another person or the
child himself”.

C) Ministers want to call the new offence “adult sexual activity with a child”, rather than
“adult sexual abuse of a child” so it might include offences involving no physical contact,
such as a recent case where a man incited two young girls to undress.
The offence would cover an adult who forced a child to witness a sexual act, whether it was
live or recorded. It would ensure that much heavier penalties were available to courts for
child sex offences. It is also expected that the offence would not carry any time limits.

D) A new crime of “adult sexual activity with a child”, and a reform of the law on rape are to
be included in an overhaul of Britain’s laws on sex offences, which are to be introduced into
parliament this year.
The catch-all criminal offence – the first of this kind anywhere in the world – recognizes that
sexual activity between adults and children is unacceptable, and that some cases are so
serious that they warrant a life sentence.





E) It would still be for the prosecution to prove that the woman did not consent to sex if the
defense said that she did. The law will still list examples where such consent is not present,
such as where the person was asleep, or too affected by alcohol or drugs to give “voluntary
and genuine agreement”.

F) Ministers have begun to thrash out their detailed response to an internal Home Office
review of the law on sex offences, published in July 2000. The new crime of “adult sexual
activity with a child” will replace the seven different sex offences used to prosecute in child
sex cases such as indecent assault, intercourse with a girl under 13, gross indecency and
buggery

G) The changes in law on rape will not see the introduction of a lesser offence of “date rape”.
The legal concept of “consent”, however, is to be clarified and defined as “voluntary and
genuine agreement”.

(Alan Travis: The Guardian)

HERE IS A QUOTATION ON A DOMESTIC VIOLENCE STUDY MADE BY AN
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY.

The battered woman is pictured by most people as a small, fragile, haggard person who
might once have been pretty. She has several small children, no job skills, and is
economically dependent on her husband. It is frequently assumed that she is poor and from a
minority group. She is accustomed to living in violence, and her fearfulness and passivity are
emphasized above all. Although some battered women do fit the description, research proves
it to be a false stereotype.”


Activity 2 DEBATE


A.
Do you agree with this point of view?
Does the description above fit your perception of “battered women”?
Present your personal point of view on the issue.
B.
In pairs discuss the subject according to the following key issues on the topic of domestic
violence
Low self-esteem; violent background; traditionalism; economic factors; cultural factors;
family stress; changing pattern of family life

Exercise 1
Fill in the gaps using the words in the table:


advertisements, across, able, and, clutches, condemn, contract, director, difficult, end
entrepreneur, efforts, fate, involved, nation, of, Patriarch, personal, romantic, southern,
streets, they, threatens, Ukraine, with, wound.


One shrewd 1)..… formed a company called "Love You". This company is 2) ..… in enlisting
Ukrainian women and girls to marry Serbian men, who live in the mountainous regions of
southern Serbia. 3) ..… say that this program of marriage received the unofficial approval 4) ..…
the Yugoslavian government and the blessing of the Serbian 5) …... Paul, because it proposes to
renew the gene pool of the 6) ..…. Obviously, this firm has enough profits to place TV 7) ..… for
enlistment of women from the Orthodox world especially from 8) ..….
Beginning in the spring of 1997, the city of Cherkass 9) ..… the oblast (region) had the
opportunity to view several 10) ..… TV advertisements proposing marriage in the picturesque
mountain region of 11) ..… Serbia, with similar ads in the local newspapers.
Some women were brave enough to make radical changes in their 12) ….. lives. We cannot
13) ..… them in this. We are all aware that life in Ukraine at this time is 14) ..… and
especially so for women. But if our women knew the 15) ...… that awaited them they would
make all 16) …. to remain at home.
One resident of Cherkass was 17) ..…, through a miracle, to escape the 18) ..… of her new
Serbian husband. But now she has a problem with the 19) ..… of this marriage agency who

threatens her 20) ..… death if she doesn't compensate him monetarily for breaking the 21)
..…. This "businessman" 22) ..… to find her in Ukraine if she manages to get 23) ..… the
border of Yugoslavia. This woman might easily 24) ..… up without any documents or help
on the 25) ..… of Belgrade.

Activity 3
Read the text

SERBS CRACK DOWN ON SEX SLAVE TRADE

Serbian police have begun to crack down on “white slave trade” in women tricked into
prostitution in the Balkans. In the biggest operation conducted so far by the organized crime
department, hundreds of officers raided more than 400 nightclubs, dance bars and cafes,
freeing dozens of young women. They arrested 150 people on charges
ranging from
procuring prostitutes to possessing drugs and arms.

“This is good news”, said Enrico Ponziani, head of the international office for migration in
Belgrade, which is opening a safe shelter for liberated women and children. “We are talking




about thousands, not hundreds, of women and children who are trafficked through Serbia
every year. We need more operations of that nature”.
He said that Serbia was often the starting point for the trade in women and children as young
as 14. Most were from Romania and former Soviet republics of Moldova and Ukraine,
fleeing economic misery at home. They arrived in Serbia believing they were going to jobs as
nannies and waitresses in Western Europe.
“When they cross the border they are

housed somewhere in Serbia and ordered to hand over
their passports, Mr. Ponziani said. “At that point they start to realize they have been tricked.
They are slaves because they’re being forced to do things they had no idea they would be
forced to do”.
He said the women were traded between Albania, Serbia and Bosnia many times. They were
moved illegally into Macedonia, Kosovo and Bosnia to serve new clients.
In Serbia one of the women freed said that she had been sold for $500. She escaped from
Kazanova dance club in Panchevo, near Belgrade, which is run by Rade Spelovic.
Serbian police describe Mr. Spelovic as one of the untouchable leaders of the slave trade.
They said that he had threatened to unleash fierce dogs on any of the women who tried to
escape.
Western officials say that for every Serb running the trade, there are many more people in
Romania, Ukraine and Moldova organizing their end of the business. The officials are
mounting an awareness campaign in the Balkans and in the former Soviet Union to alert
police and victims to the realities of “work abroad”.

Exercise 2
Match these words or phrases with the underlined expressions in the text.
a) to untie, to let loose b) to accommodate (often temporarily)
c) to tighten up, to restrict severely d) to vary between,
e) to fool, to cheat f) to start, to launch ( a programme/ campaign etc.)


Activity 4
Translate into English

Deşi nici concubina nu-i ştie adevăratul nume,
‘CREIERUL’ UNEI RETELE DE TRAFIC DE CARNE VIE A FOST CAPTURAT DE
POLITISTII DE LA CRIMA ORGANIZATA

După mai multe săptămâni de cercetări, poliţiştii Centrului Zonal de Combatere a Crimei
Organizate şi Antidrog Timişoara şi colegii lor din cadrul Direcţiei Generale Bucureşti, au
reuşit să dezlege misterul care blocase cercetările într-unul dintre ultimele dosare referitoare
la activitatea unei reţele de trafic de carne vie. La începutul lunii februarie, poliţiştii
timişoreni au descins într-un apartament de pe malul Begăi şi au găsit aici cinci tinere, între
care două minore, care urmau să fie trecute ilegal în Iugoslavia, pentru a ajunge în Italia şi
Spania, ca să se prostitueze. Atunci a fost reţinut şi unul dintre proxeneîi – Buciu Raoul, de
24 de ani, din Timişoara, care a fost arestat pe 30 de zile pentru proxenetism. Din cercetări s-
a stabilit ca adevăratul ‘creier’ al afacerii era alt barbat, despre care nu se ştia decât ca-l
cheamă Dan. S-a aflat doar că acesta are o concubină în Timişoara. În urma descinderii la




locuinţa acesteia s-a stabilit că nici femeia, care era gravidă în luna a opta cu cel căutat, nu-i
ştia adevărata identitate. A fost găsită o fotografie, care a constituit punctul de plecare. În
urma verificărilor, poliţiştii Direcţiei Generale de Combatere a Crimei Organizate şi Antidrog
l-au identificat pe cel din poză ca fiind Buciuleac Ioan, de 31 de ani, zis Dan, care avea
domiciliul in Bucureşti. Ofiţerii de la Crimă Organizată din Bucureşti au descins la locuinţa
acestuia, dar o persoană aflată în interior a refuzat să le deschidă uşa. Dupa obţinerea
autorizaţiei de percheziţie, poliţiştii au intrat în forţă, reţinându-l pe suspect. Acesta are la
activ mai multe furturi, înşelăciuni şi alte infracţiuni. Demn de remarcat este faptul că, de
multe dintre pedepse a scăpat, ascunzându-se până la prescrierea faptelor. Sâmbătă,
Buciuleac a fost prezentat Parchetului de pe lângă Tribunalul Timiş, cu propunere de
arestare preventivă pe 30 de zile, sub acuzaţia de proxenetism în formă agravată. În cazul în
care va fi găsit vinovat, el riscă o pedeapsă între 2 şi 7 ani de închisoare.
(Dragoş Boţa)

Activity 5
Read the text

WOMEN’S LIBERATION MOVEMENT
From suffragettes to policewomen
Born in Worthington in 1820, Elizabeth Greer was educated at the Female Seminary in
Worthington where she later taught. In 1844, Elizabeth married Harvey Coit and moved to a
house on 3rd street in Columbus where she eventually had eight children. An avid supporter
of women's rights, Elizabeth Greer Coit became the first president of the Woman's Suffrage
Association in Columbus. For many years, the Suffrage Association met in her home once a
month to plan the advancement of women. A friend of such luminaries as Susan B. Anthony,
Lucy Stone, Frances Willard, and Mary Livermore, Elizabeth opened her home to suffragists.
Her husband and children sympathized with her work. A delegate to a state convention for
women's suffrage that met in Columbus in 1884, she was also treasurer of the state
association, attended their meetings, and served as an effective speaker on the suffrage
lecture circuit in Columbus and neighboring towns when this cause was singularly
unpopular. As a reward for her hard work, Elizabeth received much public opprobrium,
spiteful personal remarks, and hateful letters. She bore it all with great patience.
Once her eight-year-old daughter Belle ran home from school sobbing, "Mother, are you
strong-minded and do you wear pants?" In response, Elizabeth calmly replied, "My dear, I
hope I am strong-minded. I should be very sorry to have had children if I were feeble-
minded."